JHU Public Health Studies in Cape Town

Tuesday, 7 July 2015

My original motivation for running in Cape Town was to be
able to eat copious amounts of food without having to feel guilty about it.
However, over the past four weeks, running has come to be a great way for me to
learn about the city. Through a very scientific process of randomly deciding to
turn down streets that look interesting and following random other runners that
I see (definitely not creepy at all), I’ve discovered some really neat places
and some magnificent views. So lace up your virtual running shoes and follow
along below to discover with me a few of the many beautiful places in Cape Town!

Step 1: It’s 7:30 am and the sun is just about to rise. You’re all geared up and have one hour to run before you have to get ready to go to your internship site.

If you’re feeling up for a challenge head up the hill (go to step 2a), if you’re feeling like a flatter run head down the hill (go to step 2b).

Step 2a: Good for you sprinting up that hill!

You can now either keep left to run along what looks like a
fairly flat path (go to step 3a), or continue up the hill in the general
direction of the University of Cape Town (go to step 3b).

Step 2b: You’ve run downhill from the cottage and are now at
main road. You know there are shops in both directions but past those you have
very little knowledge of the areas. So what would you like to do? To go left
proceed to 3c and to go right proceed to 3d.

Step 3a: So you chose to take the flatter path. No shame in
that. Unfortunately for you the path was only flat for about half a mile, and
your next two miles were pretty much all uphill. Luckily all your hard work paid off and you reached the beautiful Kirstenbosch
gardens. Take a few minutes to enjoy the beautiful plants and views and then
enjoy your downhill run home.

Step 3b: Wow- continuing up the hill! You must really be in
great shape! If not, you’re really feeling the burn right now. But don’t worry,
the climb was definitely worth it. You’ve made it to Rhode’s Memorial where you
have a beautiful view of the city. If you’re feeling extra adventurous you can
hop on one of the trails that leads even further up the mountain. But I’m not
doing that so you're on your own!

Step 3c: You run down Main Street past the familiar
Pick’N’Pay and Nando’s and head into an unfamiliar area. But all of the sudden
you come upon an extremely large and beautiful park where there are lots of
other runners. As if that wasn’t enough, you turn around and notice that you
have a perfectly unobstructed view of the mountains. Great find!

Step 3d: You run down Main Street past Woolsworth and the
Creamery (you should go there tonight- you definitely deserve ice cream after
this run). You head through a nice neighborhood and right when you were about
to turn around you come across a large dog park. Assuming that the dogs won’t
mind sharing the park with you, you head on in and run around the loop. There
are several cute little streams running through the park and some nice greenery
as well. The best part is that you didn’t get attacked by any dogs! Just kidding,
the best part is definitely the great views of the mountains. Now time to say
goodbye to all the doggies and head back home.

Running through a city allows you to learn so much more than
you ever can just driving around. You find the secret hideaways and the little
charms that make it unique and special. It makes you feel less like a tourist and more like
a member of a community. And while I’ve loved all of the cool adventures we’ve
had (paragliding, going to markets, kayaking, etc.) some of my favorite moments
have come from running around the city.

Friday, 3 July 2015

Looking from the outside, Bo-Kaap
is known for its' colorful houses that are tucked safely into the fold of Signal hill. The neighborhood is actually filled with impacting history, memorable
culture and enjoyable cuisines and also serves as the home of the Cape Malay people who are
predominantly of the Muslim faith and in addition, it is the home of the oldest mosque in
South Africa called The Auwal Mosque. Before coming to Cape Town I use to
spend all day googling tourist sites, which mountains to hike and which towns
to visit but, all that changed when my class got one of the most
enticing tours of Cape Town.

The tour of Bo-Kaap began
in their local museum. Our tour guide, Shareen, took us on one of
the quickest but heart felt tours of the basic culture and history of the Cape
Malay people of Bo-Kaap. In the museum, we were able to see things such as old
pictures from past weddings in the older streets of Bo-Kaap as well as the
types of materials used by families to make their meals. It was an impressive
variety of items that in combination focused on the norms of this community.

As we made our way out of
the museum, we crossed the street to enter “The World of Spices” formerly known
as the Atlas Trading Company. There, we were all amazed by the grand selection
of spices such as coriander, cumin, and chilli all the way to my personal
favorite Chicken Tikka Masala. Shareen was great enough to coach us on the
specific spices that are used to make some of the more traditional meals the
neighborhood.

A few of the spices ;)

When we began our journey in the vivid streets of Bo-Kaap, we quickly documented what we saw. On each street
there were different arrays of colored houses that almost seemed to not repeat because
the colors of each house was as vibrant and breathtaking as the next.

Leaving the spice grocery

After what it seemed to be the last of the colored houses, we arrived to a beautiful home of one of the locals. A local Bo-Kaap woman, who invited us into her home for lunch and a
mini samoosas folding and stuffing lesson, greeted us with open arms. As soon as I sat at the
table I swiftly took some mouth-watering pictures of the appetizers and dug
into the samoosas (one of my favorite foods). As we continued to stuff our
faces with such goodness, the mother offered to teach us how to fold and fill
the samoosas but not too long after we were eating lunch. The samoosas and Dhaltjies
(Chili bites) served as an appetizer while the main course consisted of the traditional
Cape Malay Curry Chicken and Roti while for dessert we had Koesisters
(something I have never tasted before but it was delightful). The meal was so
delicious and I found myself asking for seconds, thirds and also fourths. At
that moment, it was appropriate to say that I visited the Cape Malay paradise.

Samoosas and Dhaljties

Bo-Kaap woman teaching us how to hold the samoosas.

Koesisters

I had one of the most memorable moments in her home and with her family. They were extremely welcoming people who were very excited to teach us about their culture and to be honest, I didn't want to leave. I found myself intrigued to learn more about their lives and more importantly, to be fed ;)

By the end of the tour, I
learned everything from the basic history of when the Malay people came to Cape
Town all the way to the culture and types of cuisines they brought with
them. More or less, whether it be the smell of the spices, the tiny roads, the
beautiful mountains or the brightly colored houses, Bo-Kaap has proven to be the
MOST beautiful places with the MOST lovely people.

Wednesday, 1 July 2015

Feeling At Home in the Mother City

Every year, thousands of people
travel to other countries to volunteer in areas that have lower socioeconomic
status and worse living conditions than their own. These service trips are usually the only times
that these people will ever be in these areas, and they leave with only the
memories and pictures of their experiences.
So when thinking about my trip to Cape Town this summer, I knew I wanted
to have more of a connective experience; I wanted to make relationships with
the people I met and really continue my efforts to help the people I was about
to meet, even after I returned to the United States. But I was not completely confident that I
would be able to do this. I worried that
being a financially stable, Caucasian American I would be so foreign that I
would not be able to connect with the people I met and I would simply have to
complete my program and leave. The
thought of completing my program superficially, without cultural immersion or
personal connections, equally saddened me and worried me.

Funny moments with a child from the Baphumelele Children's Home

But soon after arriving in Cape
Town, I realized that my fears were unnecessary. I learned that as long as I made an effort to
get to know people and understand their culture and perspective, I was accepted
and welcomed by many. A simple smile and
“Molo” (“hello” in the local language, Xhosa), was a solid start, and asking
people about their lives and ideas, as well as attempting to learn some basic
Xhosa phrases, paved the way for some budding relationships in which I now feel
accepted and less like a foreigner. During
my time in Cape Town so far, there have been several instances in which this
has occurred and I’ve truly felt this bridge between cultures.

The Bikanis, my home stay family!

My second weekend of the program was
spent on a home stay visit in the Zwelethemba Township, outside the city of
Worchester. During this time I lived
with a local family, eating with them and joining them for most
activities. Although initial nervousness
led to awkwardness on both my end and my home stay family’s end, by the end of
the visit I felt right at home. The
South African people have a way of welcoming newcomers in an endearing and
friendly way. They offer you food and
drink, even if they have little of both in the first place, and they make you
feel at home as best they can. By asking
my homestay family about their ideas and trying to immerse myself in their
lives as best as I could, through going to the market with them or partaking in
African rituals with them, I was able to further this welcoming, and make a
connection with them.

Learning how to make samosas in Bo-Kaap

Another cultural interaction like
this occurred during my visit to Bo-Kaap, an area of Cape Town that is occupied
primarily by people of the Islamic faith.
Although she had never met us before, a local Bo-Kaap woman invited us
into her home after the tour of the area, and taught us how to cook traditional
Cape Malay food. She had the typical
welcoming demeanor that I had experienced with other South Africans, cooking
for us and teaching us about her culture, but I truly felt at home, in her home,
when she sat down next to us at the dinner table and we asked her about her
life in Bo-Kaap. She told us about how
communal life was for everyone in the area, and how she had grown up in Bo-Kaap
and watched her children and grandchildren grow up there, too. If we had been foreign Americans when we had
walked through her door, by the end of our visit we had been more than
that. By extending that extra effort to
get to know her, after she had welcomed us into her home, we were able to have
a connection that crossed the lines drawn between our very different lives.

The OVC group at Yabonga

But the place where I have really
felt this bridge between cultures is at my internship site, Yabonga. Although I will admit that I don’t feel this
connection with every South African at the site, and it took the last four
weeks to have the connection with those that I do, I have started to feel right
at home at Yabonga. Initially my fellow
interns and I had felt like foreigners who were welcomed but still had this
wall between ourselves and some of the gap year students at the site. But the last few weeks have been spent
getting to know these students, as well as some of the staff members, through
talking to them about their lives in the Khayelitsha Township, playing soccer
with them, seeing them perform traditional African music and dance and learning
their native language of Xhosa. And
these efforts have definitely made a difference. I feel more and more accepted, just by having
gotten to know the students and working with them throughout the week. I look forward to going to Yabonga because I
don’t feel out of place there anymore.

Khayelitsha, the township Yabonga is in

A former Robben Island prisonergiving us a tour of the prison!

Developing
relationships with some of the people I have met has been one of the most
rewarding parts of my trip to South Africa.
Although coming into the trip I had worried about that cultural wall
between my life and the lives of the people I was about to meet, I have found
that making that extra effort to learn about people’s lives and learn bits and pieces
of their language, even after they have welcomed you into their life, is what
makes the difference. I know that these
relationships will last longer than just the duration of my trip and I look
forward to returning to South Africa to continue doing what I love and helping
improve South African public health.

Friday, 26 June 2015

The majority of my time here in South Africa is spent at the
amazing St. Joseph’s Home For Chronically Ill Children. I have always adored
kids.From the day I decided to switch
from being pre-law and instead go into medicine to become a pediatrician, I
haven’t looked back.That’s one of the
reasons my internship at St. Joseph’s Home (SJH) is so great. SJH is a wonderful facility for those children
who have life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses. Each day that I am at
SJH, I encounter kind, considerate and friendly nurses and staff members. There are so many wonderful children here who
are just bubbling with excitement and filled to the brim with joy regardless of
their condition. It is honestly such a privilege to be surrounded by them.
JHU_Gauri who also works at my site, in her own blog mentioned some great and
also heartrending facts about the kids who live at the Home.

The delightful lobby of St. Joseph's Home

St. Joseph’s Home
is not only great in the care it provides for so many children, but also in
its pioneering of an innovative short-term block therapy program. Founded by
German nuns who did not believe in idle hands, SJH focuses not on the
disabilities that limit them, but instead, rather on improving the abilities
the children do have. A number of the children at the Home were in car accidents
and suffer from traumatic brain injuries. A few of these children have been
enrolled in the two-week block program in which they can receive speech,
occupational and physiotherapy. After the therapy program ends, the facility
sends rehab care workers to follow up on the progress of the children.

!An article about two adorable kids at SJH who were able to successfully progress to the next grade

For the last few weeks, I have had the
opportunity to shadow these therapists and never once have I found them to be
lacking in compassion nor patience with any child, no matter how limited the
child’s abilities were (they also certainly had the patience to answer the many
questions I asked). It is such a pleasure to see these children who’ve suffered
from a stroke or who have cerebral palsy, carry out the fun and creative tasks
the therapists set out for them. Although it is heartbreaking to know what
these children have been through, constantly seeing a smile on their faces never
fails to cheer me up.As I watch them
successfully complete each task, whether it is pronouncing a word or using their
affected hand to throw a ball, I cannot help but to feel inspired by their
tenacity to keep on improving.

An amazing child who is doing well at SJH

Since the block
program is only two weeks, the therapists can only do so much before the time
is up. Thus, the program requires that parents be an integral part of the
process and attend at least four sessions so that when the child is discharged,
the parent can continue the exercises. Unfortunately, although improvements are
made in the program, many of these children regress in someway after being
discharged. This is one of the few times I see the jovial therapists look
defeated.Many of these children come
from poverty stricken homes and their families face multiple issues. Many
parents have various responsibilities such as having to go to work or caring for their other children and so they cannot give their child the attention
he/she needs nor do many of them have the financial means to properly support their
disabled child.

St. Joseph's Home allowed us to do a home visit in order to
obtain a firsthand experience of the living situations of these children. In
both homes we visited, a common concern was the child’s progress in school. After
they are discharged, these children end up going to mainstream schools where there are forty kids to one teacher and so the teacher cannot give the
individualized attention the child needs.Unfortunately, as a consequence, the child ends up falling behind.
Transferring the child to a special school can be a long and arduous process
and in the mean time the kids continue to have difficulties at their current
schools. It is saddening to know that so many of these children regress or fall
through the cracks after all the progress they had made at St. Joseph’s Home,
especially since with the right care they would have flourished. At the end of
my days at the Home, I always wish I could have been more helpful to those children
instead of just observing their plight, and I am constantly wondering how I
could have made more of an impact in their lives.

When I am taken away from those thoughts by doing
some adventurous activity with the other girls on the trip, like hiking Lion’s
Head (where I quickly found out I was not the world’s best hiker) or
paragliding, I am able to immerse myself in the beauty of Cape Town. Being
thousands of feet in the air and seeing all the beauty below, it is easy to
just be in awe of what seems like a perfect surface. However, my time at St. Joseph’s
Home has ensured that I will never forget the sad reality for so many children
that lies beneath it all.

Thursday, 25 June 2015

My very first Friday of interning at the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation Youth Center, I had the pleasure of attending the site's annual Youth Day celebration. I heard murmurings of the upcoming celebration as soon as I began work at the beginning of the week. As I was getting to know my site, which consists of a positive youth development center and clinic, I could sense a tangible feeling of excitement among the staff and my fellow interns. I attended a planning meeting, and learned that much thought and enthusiasm had gone into the preparation of the celebration long before my arrival. On Friday morning, as I rode through the mountains on the way to the Youth Center, I eagerly wondered what the day had in store.

Youth Day is a South African national holiday on which people celebrate the youth of today and remember the youth of the past. In particular, South Africans commemorate the youth involved in a protest that took place on June 16, 1976 in Soweto. On this day in history, school aged individuals rallied for the right to education taught in their native language of Xhosa. Recent apartheid-era laws had instead mandated instruction in the language of Afrikaans. This initial protest led to a string of other youth protests, collectively called the Soweto uprising. Very sadly, these children and adolescents were met with harsh police brutality. On June 16, 1976, South Africans remember these brave souls as many children across the country take part in festivals and marches. Schools and work places are closed on June 16, so the Youth Center holds its celebration the Friday before the actual holiday.

The main individuals in charge of the celebration were six interns hired from the community the Youth Center services. This community, the nearby township of Masiphumelele, has a high rate of HIV and is home to many lower income families. The Youth Center provides Masiphumelele with a safe place where youth can learn educational and self-betterment skills as well as access clinical services. The six youth interns go through a competitive interview process in order to earn these positions of leadership, and are fully dedicated to helping kids from Masiphumelele succeed and be healthy. For me, their kindness, enthusiasm, and friendship have made them the best parts of working at the center so far.

When I came into the Youth Center that Friday morning, the first thing I saw was the six Masiphumelele interns dressed in school uniforms. Though they had all graduated from high school, they thought it would be fun to promote the holiday's theme of education. I helped them to set up chairs for the youth that would soon arrive. Before long, all the chairs were occupied and only standing room was left. Children filled the room in large groups of friends, laughing and singing. I watched from the far back as the festivities began!

A full house at the Youth Day celebration!

Puthuma, one of the most outgoing interns, took on the role of master of ceremonies. She told jokes to get the kids riled up and then engaged them in a trivia contest. A giant wheel with numbers was spun, and kids from the audience were asked questions about the history of Youth Day. Correct answers earned the youth lollipops and an invitation to one of the Youth Center's upcoming programs. The children loved this activity; it was hard for those in the audience to resist shouting out the answers to the questions as each one was asked.

Puthuma working the microphone and asking trivia questions

Following this, a string of artistic youth performances took place. An a capella singing group blended beautiful harmonies, and a young girl recited striking self-composed poetry. A group of drummers and dancers amazed the crowd with their rhythmic talents and acrobatic skills. A group of mimes even made an appearance, which caused the youth to howl with laughter and enjoyment. All of these performances had ties back to the original theme of the holiday: the promotion of youth and the remembrance of the Soweto uprising victims.

Dancers at the front of the stage

The hilarious mimes!

When the performances had all finished, the youth gathered signs with positive messages, and went outside for a march led by the Youth Center. During this short window of opportunity, the other interns and I prepared snacks of muffins and oranges for them to enjoy upon their return. The festivities had come to a conclusion, but they had been a great deal of fun.

That evening, as I was riding home to Rondebosch, I thought about all that I had experienced that day. I had seen so much positivity in the youth of Masiphumelele, and I found it truly inspiring. I was excited to get to know the rest of the interns better, and I was excited to interact with more of the kids at the center. I knew that the rest of my summer at the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation Youth Center would be informative, fun, and fulfilling.

Happiness, and
hiking. Never have I ever had any intentions of hiking…especially up a
mountain. Well, particularly because I am not a huge fan of nature – the woods,
bugs, snakes, all of that good stuff. Yet, when you find yourself surrounded by
a landscape that looks like it belongs on the cover of National Geographic
magazine, you have to give it a chance. I mean, I look straight ahead, I see
mountains; I look right, I see mountains; I look left, I see mountains; in my
dreams, well, I haven’t seen a mountain just yet, but I feel it coming!

True Beauty of the12 Apostles !

Cape
Town, South Africa is absolutely beautiful. So beautiful that I did, in fact,
decide to go hiking. Not once, but twice in 24 hours! It all began
with Lion’s Head. I remember driving past looking at this thing for days. Every
time, the same thought would circle my mind: Mufasa and Simba belong there! Or, are you sure this isn’t Pride Rock? It took a few days before I
realized that they don’t even look alike. Well, kind of, but since its
definitely not Simba territory, I decided it was certainly my opportunity to
make my mark. I had to climb it, and my girls were coming with me!

Pride Rock

Lion's Head

It couldn’t
have been a more perfect day to hike 669m above sea level (even though we
didn’t walk right out of the sea, we could see the sea so it still counts)! The
trail began very much so path like, with a wide and not-so-scary walkway up the
hill. I started up, arms pumping, feet moving, smile shining, but it only took
about ten minutes uphill for my feet to slowly trot, arms fall – but
nonetheless my smile didn’t fail me (: I picked up the pace a little and pushed
through until walking up this hill became second nature. Of course, being the
girls we are, we had to take pictures on pictures on pictures every chance we
could get, even though at the end of the day most of the pictures looked
completely identical. It was worth the pit stop water break! However, the clear
path didn’t last too long. It became narrow real quick! I peeked over the edge
a few times and quietly died inside. I used to be the most daring kid. I really
don’t know what happened to me with this whole fear of heights situation. But,
its cool; it wouldn’t be the end of the world if you fall off, right? WRONG!
Ok, back to our lovely adventure. After a few ladders, role calls, and scaling
the mountain time after time again, we were on our way to standing on top of
this lion’s head!

I'm on top of the worldddd!

Don't Worry, Be Happy (:

Climbing up wasn’t too bad, but all I could think about was
trying to climb down. About an hour and a half into our journey, we made it to
the top. Just in time for the sunset! I can honestly say that making it to the
top was one huge accomplishment. And it was awesome! The beauty of this sunset
relieved all of my worries and deepened all of my happiness. Perfect place for
some quick selfies!

Hey, look what we found

JHU REPRESENT

Ooooooooo....

Ahhhhhhhhhh !

What better way
to start your day than to wake up to your alarm clock blaring at 4:30am?
Attempting to move a leg realizing it feels about five hundred pounds because
you’re so sore from walking up a mountain only a several hours prior. I mean it
doesn’t get better than that, right? False. That was the ultimate struggle. But
I had to persevere and climb another mountain…in complete darkness, yay! Today’s
special was Devil’s Peak with a little bit of sunrise on the side. I know the
name sounds quite mean, but I didn’t realize how evil a hill could actually be.
This time our so-called “trail” consisted of nothing but rocks, shrubs, dirt,
and more green pieces of nature. This time, our so-called “trail” also meant
walking straight up a steep, vertical hill. I felt like I was walking on the
treadmill with an incline of about 234,329. I got that feeling where you feel
like your lungs are going to explode, blood pumping. The good part, my Fitbit
was really feeling it. I had about 10,000 steps by 1:00pm that afternoon! As we
walked up the mountain, the brisk morning wind kept us cool and eager to reach
the top. I was feeling accomplished, my determination though. Few breaks and
about an hour later, I reached the blockhouse on the mountain just as the sun
was about to peek out from under the darkness. It was so refreshing. The sky
adorned itself with intense streaks of navy followed by soft orange in color.
It was honestly such an incredible feeling. As the sun continued to rise
brightening the sky, I felt like the world was waking up one moment at a time. Good
morning Cape Town! I couldn’t believe I made it up two mountains in less than
24 hours. Before this weekend, I had never hiked in my life! Maybe this hiking
thing isn’t too bad after all. It made me really happy (: